This massive tree is one of the largest things to ever live on our planet.
Climate change and overlogging almost made them disappear, but now, the king of the trees
are making a comeback. Hi, I’m Tasha the Amazon and you’re watching
Floralogic. Giant sequoias are huuuuge, they live for thousands of years, and they’ve
evolved to withstand forest fires. Depending on your definition, they’re the
largest things to ever live. We’re going to need a minute to understand just how massive
they are. The tallest giant sequoias get to around 90
meters tall. That’s about as tall as three blue whales stacked up head to tail, or about
the same height as the Statue of Liberty. But their real claim to fame is their mass.
They’re the heaviest of all trees and, more importantly, they’re the thiccest.
These trees are so massive that individual trees get names and are almost like celebrities.
These are the Harambes and Cecil the Lions of the plant world.
A thick Giant Sequoia named General Grant holds the record for largest diameter at 8.8
meters. A triceratops playing hide and seek could comfortably hide behind this tree.
But the record for the most massive tree on Earth belongs to its cousin, General Sherman,
which with a diameter of 7.7 meters and a height of 84 meters, claims the undisputed
heavyweight title. The tree is estimated to weigh over 2000 tons, or about 400 big ol’
elephants. Getting that big takes a while - like a couple
THOUSAND years. In fact the oldest giant sequoias were already about 1000 years old when the
Roman Empire was founded. There have been reports of giant sequoias
with over 4000 rings, but unfortunately they were from tree stumps, back when these trees
were being logged heavily. As a side note, the only tree species that
routinely lives longer than the giant sequoias are the Great Basin Bristlecone Pines, with
some individuals confirmed to be close to 5,000 years old.
The oldest living tree in the world is a Bristlecone Pine called Methuselah. Its location is a
secret. All we know is that it’s somewhere in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in
California. There must be something in the water in Califor
because wild Giant Sequoias are also only found there. Though it wasn’t always like
that. During the last ice age giant sequoias were
common across North America and Europe, but as the glaciers receded and the climate changed,
their range receded. Then, when European loggers got to California with their gnawing, biting,
breaking, hacking, burning the Sequoias were decimated once again.
Luckily for them, their wood is relatively brittle and since they’re so wide, cutting
them down was a huge hassle. And so, it was more efficient for most logging
companies to focus on other trees. Additionally, most people recognized their
majesty and importance, and most of their current range has been protected since the
early 20th century. The bad news is that there are only 81 groves
left in the wild. All of them are found in the western slope
of the Sierra Nevada Range of California, and they’re considered an endangered species.
You might be wondering, why doesn’t the giant sequoia, the biggest tree, just eat
all the other trees? Well, they might be the most badass trees
in the world, but they are kind of needy. They like living in humid climates, ideally
in mountains at altitudes between 1000 and 2000 meters. At lower altitudes they become
susceptible to fungus and parasites. They also require lots of nutrients from the
soil, so they rely on forest fires to kill the competition.
Because, of course, like the mother of dragons, giant sequoias are well-equipped to withstand
fire. They even drop their seeds immediately after
a fire, as it’s the perfect time for a seedling to grow without other plants vying for their
resources. And lastly they need a lot of water, so they
can only grow naturally near streams and other bodies of water.
Even if you plant them at home and take care of them, unless they’re in the right conditions
they might not produce cones and won’t reproduce. That doesn’t mean people haven’t tried.
Since the 1860s people have been falling in love with their big trunk energy and have
tried to grow them elsewhere. The countries with the most giant sequoias
outside of the US are Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and France. Some of these
places already have trees that are over 150 years old. The largest of them is in France
and is already about 60m tall. But if you want to see the OG giant sequoias
you still have to go to California. And while you’re at it you can see their closest living
relative, the coastal redwood. Along with their cousin, the dawn redwood,
they’re collectively called, simply, the redwoods, and they’re part of the cypress
family. They each belong to different genera, but all their genus names make reference to
the word Sequoia. It’s thought that they were named after Sequoyah, the creator of
the Cherokee language writing system. Of the two, the most impressive is the coastal
redwood. It isn’t as thick as the giant sequoia but it can be even taller.
The tallest trees in the world are all coastal redwoods. Hyperion, the tallest known tree
is over 115 meters tall. Over a blue whale taller than General Sherman.
Luckily they don’t compete with each other because they have adapted to live at different
altitudes. Coastal redwoods usually live close to the
coast at elevations under 750 m. The third redwood, the dawn redwood, is native
to China and only gets to about 35m. But due to its beauty it has been exported and is
now common across the US and the UK. So if you’re close to California and it’s
safe to travel, go visit Hyperion, the two generals, and the other amazingly huge redwoods.
Just a warning, they’ll make you feel very, very, very small. Also, watch out for scout
troopers. So what should I talk about next? Please let
me know in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe for new episodes of Floralogic
every other week. Thanks for watching. See ya!